Indonesia to international court?

The conflict between the Indonesian National Army (TNI) and the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN-PB), is one of the longest in modern history. 

It has never been as intense as it is now: While until the early 1990s West Papuan freedom fighters fought with traditional and homemade weapons, currently most of them use conventional arms.

However much Jakarta tries to justify its military presence in West Papua as a matter of internal security, the mounting number of casualties requires it to apply International humanitarian law (IHL).

It is a set of rules that seek to limit the impact of armed conflict, establish the responsibilities of states and non-state armed groups during armed conflict, while facilitating unhindered humanitarian assistance.

Like many countries, Indonesia has adhered to IHL in accordance with the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Additional Protocol of 1977 relating to the treatment of war crimes.

Yet, to date, Indonesia has not incorporated these two international treaties into its legal system, making all its military operations in West Papua since 1963 illegal in every respect. 

Moreover, these military operations were carried out without the approval of the Indonesian parliament!

Given Indonesia's violations of international conventions and even its own constitution, doesn't Indonesia deserve to be sued at the International Court of Justice (ICC)?

The ICC has the authority to investigate and prosecute cases that occur when a State fails to act in accordance with its obligations to prosecute, punish and provide legal assistance. 

The gross violations committed by Indonesia in West Papua fully meets this criterion. Thus, Indonesia could be sued before the ICC. But whether it will appear before the Court is another matter.

Indeed, Indonesia failed to ratify the Rome Statute *) in 1998, giving it carte blanche to continue committing human rights violations in West Papua.

*) The Rome Statute condemns: crimes of aggression, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Note:

West Papua or Papua for short is a former Dutch colony that declared independence on December 1, 1961. However, Indonesia annexed the region a few years later through a sham referendum known as the “Act of Free Choice” or Pepera. An estimated 500,000 Papuans were killed during the six decades of Indonesia occupation. In recent months many Papuans, especially those living in the mountains, have been tortured, shot and killed, while thousands have been forced to flee their homes due to increased Indonesian military operations.